Tripoli , Libya -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Rebels in Tripoli furiously hunting for signs of longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are exploring a network of tunnels and bunkers built beneath his massive compound .

CNN 's Sara Sidner got a peek at the passageways Friday . She dubbed it `` Gadhafi 's inner sanctum . ''

The correspondent , who 's been covering the battle of Tripoli , walked down steps into a pitch-dark tunnel and used a flashlight to navigate an underworld described as `` massive . ''

So far , she said , rebels have cleared about 700 meters of underground passages . The tunnel network is believed to extend all the way to the city 's international airport and the Rixos hotel . That 's where 33 journalists and two foreign nationals were held for five days by pro-Gadhafi forces .

It also is thought to extend to a neighborhood where Gadhafi forces were lobbing shells recently toward the compound after it was taken over by the rebels .

The tunnels Sidner saw are wide enough for adults to walk side by side . She spotted a golf cart that can easily fit in the corridors .

Sidner also saw a range of other sights as she strolled through the labyrinth : A thick wall , a massive door and a sturdy lock . A charred ceiling , couches and beds where a fire apparently occurred . Pieces of metal and shrapnel . A section where NATO bombs fell and the roof caved in .

Another room contained videotapes lined up on a shelf , part of a TV studio where Gadhafi may have recorded messages .

`` It 's set up like a survival bunker , '' Sidner said in an on-air report . `` There is literally a city under here . ''

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CNN 's Sara Sidner sees another world in a tunnel below Tripoli

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Gadhafi may have recorded his taped messages in a studio there

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Rebels are methodically searching through the winding passages